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In my last post I mentioned that one of the attitudes an entrepreneur must have is one where “turning back” is not an option.  Since then I have recalled several instances that serve as examples of how this applies to being an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs must have a “decided heart” 

Since I had mentioned a portion of Andy Andrew’s book, “The Traveler’s Gift”,  I decided to go back and re-read some of it.  There’s a section where the traveler has an opportunity to meet Christopher Columbus and he is awed by the resolve that the young Portugese man has for his vision.  According to the story, just before dawn each day Columbus would look over the bow of his ship and confidently proclaim that he would see the new world at the break of dawn.  Even when confronted with the fact that he had not found the new world “today”, Columbus steadfastly affirmed that it would be found “tomorrow”.  He was undeterred by other peoples’ opinions or lack of belief.  Entrepreneurs must press on whether today’s results are stellar OR NOT.  We must not be discouraged by anyone else’s negativity or lack of energy to continue on.  Andrew states (thru Columbus), “I will freely give my vision for the future to others, and as they see the belief in my eyes, they will follow me”.

 Entrepreneurs must “know”

Another example comes from the 1999 movie “The Matrix”, where Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus, believes he has found the guy who will save them from their enemies (Neo - played by Keanu Reeves).  Morpheus says, “We’ve found him.”  “I hope you’re right”, comes the reply.  “I don’t hope”, he says.  “I know”.

Entrepreneurs -or those wishing to become entrepreneurs- must know without a doubt where they are headed and what the vision for the future is.  We cannot waver in our belief or be unsure about the direction in which we are headed.  “Knowing” will give us confidence to proceed when consequences seem bleak and when others may doubt.

Entrepreneurs must be sure of themselves

Finally, I thought of Walter Wintle’s poem, “The Man Who Thinks He Can”, where he states that “you’ve got to be sure of yourself in order to win the prize”. 

Entrepreneurs must renew this resolve on a daily basis in order to keep the energy flowing, the vision alive and to overcome any obstacles that surface on any given day.  Know that you will succeed.  Know that you are on the right path.  Be confident in the decisions that you have made and be secure in the fact that you will reach your goals.

Have a great jump,

Dino Herbert

I was in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago…enjoying life.  We spent 10 days there: 5 days we were on Maui and the rest of the time we were on Oahu at Waikiki beach.  While on Oahu I had the pleasure of traveling with a group to the north shore to go skydiving!  I felt compelled to do so:  how can I write a blog about “taking the leap” without having taken “the leap of all leaps” myself!  This was something that I had always intended to do and the trip to Hawaii presented a wonderful opportunity to do so.  I believe that life was meant to be lived now and not to be feared!  Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”, and I subscribe to that philosophy. 

Of course there are analogies between skydiving and taking the leap from the regular world of work to entreneurialism.  Some of my observations:

GO TANDEM (if need be)

Since this was my first jump, I thought it would be best to jump tandem.  I’m sure most are familiar with this, but the procedure goes as follows:  the professional jumper has the parachute on his/her back and the newbie is strapped in front.  The professional is responsible for knowing when and how to deploy the chute, so the novice is free to go along for the ride. 

While this is not a direct analogy, there are lessons to be learned.  Perhaps for your first attempt at being an entrepreneur it makes sense for you to enter into  a partnership or maybe you are one of several shareholders in a small start up corporation.  If your entrepreneurial venture is not one of these, at the very least you should join yourself to a mentor or at least become a part of a mastermind group that shares your values and will encourage you along the way.

STAY “IN THE MOMENT”

As we climbed higher in the small aircraft, those on the ground began to appear smaller and smaller: 2,000 feet….5000 feet….12,000 feet above the ground!  There were several folk (who also had never done any skydiving) that began to look a little nervous.  Several voiced their discomfort.  I admit to briefly having similar feelings, but then I took a good look at my surroundings.   The sky was clear blue with white puffy clouds…you could see the mountains below on one side and the clear blue ocean surronding them.  What a gorgeous day it was!  What a wonderful opportunity to skydive from such a beautiful location in Hawaii!

The lesson is this: don’t focus on what MIGHT go wrong as your entrepreneurial venture unfolds.  Focus on the beauty of the situation:  you have time freedom (if you do it right, that is); you are the “master of (your) fate” and “the captain of (your) soul” as William Ernest Henley said in his famous poem, “Invictus”.  You are living your life on purpose and charting your own course; a course that only you can set.

NO TURNING BACK

Admittedly the first several seconds of my leap took my breath away!  But after I got my bearings, I could totally enjoy the view.  It didn’t feel like FALLING at all!  It felt more like….like I was FLYING!  What an exhilarating feeling!  If you’ve never done it, I encourage all to give skydiving a try;  it will change your perspective on life as a whole!  It reminds me of a quote that has been attributed by many to Guillaume Apollainaire: 

“Come to the edge”, He said.  They said, “We are afraid”.  “Come to the edge”, He said.  They came and He pushed them……and they flew”. 

Once I was out of the plane, there was no need to worry about whether I had made the correct decision.  There was no sense debating with myself about whether my friends, neighbors or colleagues would think that I had lost my mind:  the decision had already been made, there was no turning back!  It is the same on this journey as an entrepreneur:  do not second guess yourself.  Do not debate whether you have made the correct decision.  Plow forward, always looking ahead, NEVER behind!  Trust your instincts.  Know (don’t “hope”) that you are going to succeed.  In fact, expect to be successful and you will be!  Just keep going and all resistance will eventually fall away.  In Andy Andrews book, “The Traveler’s Gift”, he stated it this way: “I will persist without exception”.  Winston Churchill said it this way: “Never, never, never, never, never, never give up!”.  I couldn’t agree more.

For the thrill of the jump,

Dino Herbert

Today I realized that most people are not in support of the idea of “going out on your own”.  Most people are afraid of this idea and will attempt to dissuade anyone who suggests that they would like to become an entrepreneur.  Many individuals believe that it is too risky, that it is “crazy” to leave the “security” of a “stable” job; that it’s safer to stay in a sinking ship.  I know of many people who work for a multi-million dollar corporation who, though they had many years of service, were told that their services were no longer required.

How Becoming An Entrepreneur Makes Us Different

Here are some of the analogies that come to mind when I think of how an entrepreneur feels as compared to his employee counterparts:

Going Against Traffic

Have you ever been on a busy downtown sidewalk in a large metropolitan city and needed to suddenly go the opposite direction?  To say the least, it is quite a challenge to get where you need to go!  You must remain determined or you can be swept along with the tide of humanity going in a direction that you do not desire.

Pasture vs. the Jungle

I’m sure you’ve heard the analogy of the world of the entrepreneur being a jungle where the path is uncharted and the way uncertain and the atmosphere seems fraught with danger.  Your friends, colleagues and loved ones are depicted as cows and sheep grazing lazily in the meadow, not understanding why anyone would even consider venturing into that world of uncertainty.  I may have mentioned in a previous post the sentiment of Timothy Ferriss, author of “4 Hour Work Week”: “Most people would rather be unhappy than uncertain” (paraphrased).

Trailblazing vs. staying on the well-worn path

Similarly, most people want to stay on the path that has been worn heavily by many who have gone before.  “Why get off the path?” they say.  “You could get hurt”.  They don’t understand that there may be a rare plant or hidden waterfall that can only be seen if one has the courage to just go in search of the non-traditional, the unusual, and the special.

How to Protect Your Mindset

So how can entrepreneurs protect themselves against the negative, disbelieving attitude and mindset of the majority of those who he/she comes in contact with?

Focus on the goals, not on the negative circumstances

Every day the entrepreneur will be faced with challenges that could cause doubt or fear to set in.  The solution is to focus on the goals ahead and the next steps needed to achieve those goals.  Instead of focusing on a setback specifically, focus on the possible solutions to the setback.

Choose associations wisely

Let’s face it some people are downers!  They sap your energy, your time and seek to rob you of your dreams.  These individuals should be avoided whenever possible.  Instead choose to spend time with folk who will inspire, encourage and challenge you.

 Dream Big Dreams

Setting a “large hairy goal” - as I once heard it described - has a way of energizing and redirecting your energy in a way that small “ordinary” goals cannot.  When your goal is large there is a tendency to not even notice the insignificant and trivial.  Set huge goals when you become an entrepreneur and you are less likely to get entangled with non-productive pursuits.

Happy landing,

Dino Herbert

I spent the day phoning former work associates and colleagues and pursuing other networking activities seeking to “get the word out” about my new situation as an entrepreneur, I took time this evening to go to a nearby park to spend time with my wife and two sons.  We ate food and played on the slides and jungle gym and ran…ran….ran!  I think that it is important to take time to have fun and laugh for the following reasons:

PERSPECTIVE

We’ve all heard the saying that none of us on our death beds will bemoan the fact that we didn’t spend more time at “the office”.  Even as a home-based business entrepreneur, we need to take time to get away and to realize that, more than likely, one of the main reasons we became entrepreneurs was so that we could have the freedom to spend time with our families, loved ones and friends.  If we don’t TAKE the time to do this, then we’re missing the point.  I intended the emphasis on the “taking” of time because we can’t “make” anymore time (there’s only 24 hours in a day for each of us) and we can’t “find” the time either (there isn’t any more to be found).  We have to decide that we will take the time to do what is most important.

RECHARGE

Taking time to laugh and have fun will actually give us more energy to perform the long hours that are required of entrepreneurs.  This is similar to the concept of “sharpening the saw” mentioned by Stephen Covey in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.  If we don’t take the time to sharpen or recharge, we will actually be less effective than we otherwise could be.  For example, when in college, I did what I suspect many college students have done: I pulled “all nighters” on occasion.  During one of these all night study/ project sessions it occurred to me (as I nodded off for the fourth time) that it would be better to get at least a little sleep so that I would somewhat refreshed for the exam. 

Grinding away with no time for rest and recreation does not serve us well as entrepreneurs.

POSITIVE MINDSET

Finally, having fun and laughing keeps entrepreneurs in the right frame of mind.  One of the most important characteristics that an entrepreneur can have is optimism.  Having a good time and laughing actually helps to keep us in a positive frame of mind.  One Harvard University professor, Shawn Achor, mentioned that happy people actually make better decisions (paraphrased).

As I am on this road of becoming an entrepreneur I need to make sure that I schedule the time to relax, have fun and laugh.  That reminds me…..I’ve always wanted to skydive….I think I’ll plan it some time next week!

 Until next time,

Dino

It’s been about 3 weeks since I left my corporate job in pursuit of my entrepreneurial dream and it just occurred to me that many of the individuals that I spoke with about my departure assumed that I would be looking for another job.  The comments were all similar:

“I understand that you want more time with your family.  Getting a good government job will probably be a good thing.”

“If you need me to introduce you to someone who may be looking for someone with your skill set, just let me know.”

“This is not necessarily the best economic climate to be looking for a job.”

All of these individuals do not understand - and perhaps they never will - that the job I left is the last job I will ever have as far as I’m concerned.  I suppose that some people just cannot understand how someone could leave a perfectly good job (or jump from a perfectly good airplane).  It’s like the saying goes, “If I have to explain it, you just wouldn’t understand.” 

There is so much opportunity “out there” and I intend to get my “piece of the pie”.  As this point in my life/career I consider myself to be unemployable.  The notion to become an entrepreneur has been with me for many years and I have nurtured it over the years by doing “on the side”.  But I’ve chosen to play full out and there is no turning back. 

I choose to have an attitude of “prosperity consciousness” instead of one of poverty; I choose to see the glass as half full with a huge 10 gallon pitcher next to it; I choose to walk a path that many others would not dare.  I have chosen as my mantra the words penned by one great man in his autobiography, “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”:

“I prefer to be true to myself even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false and incur my own abhorrence.”

Until next time,

Dino

Short answer:  I don’t need to GET ready.  I’m already ready! 

I was reading something this morning that I saw on Wil Schroter’s website, his “Go Big Network” regarding whether or not I’m ready for this step.  His point in his blog post dated 12/1/06 is “You’re Already Ready”.  To sum up his points:

I don’t need any more of the following:

EDUCATION

Everything that I REALLY need to know I’ll learn as I’m performing the daily task of being an entrepreneur. Neither undergraduate work nor my MBA can prepare me for the “school of hard knocks”.

EXPERIENCE

Again, all of my prior experience working for others does not compare with the experience I will gain while down in the trenches.  It’s like learning how to be a gourmet chef by going to fancy restaurants (Wil) or learning how to be a painter by going to museums (me).  I think you get the point:  you have to actually do the deed in order to gain the much-needed experience.

MONEY

Most start up companies began with their own funding using “blood, sweat and tears”, as they say; not through the help of venture capitalists.  I’ll have to tighten my belt and figure it out as I go.  This doesn’t mean I should be foolish, just that I shouldn’t put off becoming an entrepreneur waiting for an angel investor.

TIME

There is no “right time” to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur.  Except one time: NOW.  The stars will never quite align; there never be quite enough money in savings; the economic situation will never be “just right”.   I could have used any or all of the above to make excuses of why I shouldn’t have left my day job; but none of them amount to a good excuse.  I’m glad that I listened to my gut and just took the leap.

Until next time,

Dino

I’ve done some reading over the last few days (years in fact, but the messages are a little different now that I’ve taken the leap) and I’ve uncovered the qualities that many entrepreneurs seem to possess.  I’ve taken another look at myself to compare whether I measure up to the standard: am I really fit to become an entrepreneur?  These are some of the qualities that I’ve found that can be summed up in the acronym LEAP OUT:

LONG-RANGE VIEW

 ”Begin with the end in mind”, as Stephen Covey says.  You have to know where you want to go before you take the first step in order to achieve the results that you want.

ENERGY

Long days, long nights, occasional disappointment, reworks, rewrites.  Dealing with consultants/suppliers, employees (eventually), accounts receivable, accounts payable, shipments, banking institutions, investors, customers, cash flow, creditors……enough said.

AMBIGUITY COMFORT

One of the reasons most people do not leave their jobs and become an entrepreneur is that they cannot reconcile the difference between the ”certainty” of a steady paycheck and the possibility of an unsteady income stream that comes with the life of an entrepreneur.   An entrepreneur must be able to accept and manage the idea, that while “pay days” may indeed be more lucrative than when with an employer, they most likely will not come on a regular schedule.

PERSEVERANCE

There will be disappointments and set backs.  There will be times when it seems as if I’ve made a mistake.  But I’m sure that this trait is one that is critical for new entrepreneurs.  There is no mindset that says, “I’ll give this a try until this date”.  I have the attitude that I will stick with my plan until….until I’m successful.

OPTIMISM

To become an entrepreneur a person must have a positive outlook on life in general and about the affairs of the business in particular.  The focus must be on the goals that have been set and NOT on any of the obstacles that may (will) occur.

UNDAUNTED BY FEAR (not necessarily unafraid)

Sure, there are risks.  Sure, there are unknowns.  But those who are able to become an entrepreneur will look at those risks, fears and unknowns, assess the situation as best they know how and yet will proceed courageously through those circumstances.

TAKE CHARGE

Anyone wanting to become an entrepreneur will need to be a leader.  The vision, inspiration and motivation must come from this person in order for investors, employees and customers to be comfortable enough to participate in the venture.

I will need to continually nurture these traits until I have succeeded.

Until next time,

Dino